Dutch Treat? Muzak Takes On Europe

Muzak, the leading provider of background music for businesses, has announced a joint venture that will allow its services to be broadcast throughout Europe.

Muzak has signed an agreement with Netherlands-based Alcas Achtergrondmuziek to distribute background music, advertising, business TV, and data communications through direct broadcast satellite.

The new corporation, called Muzak Europe BV, will beam business music to all of Europe and well into the Eastern Bloc, the company said in a statement.

The new European subsidiary will begin broadcasting seven channels of digital music programming and one channel of in-store advertising to businesses in five European countries this month, and will expand to 12 music channel and four advertising channels within two years.

Until now, Alcas has used cassette tapes and CDs to distribute its music programming to nearly 8,000 subscribers in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Spain.

The Seattle-based Muzak has more than 200,000 business subscribers and its broadcast are heard by an estimated 80 million people each day in the U.S. and 11 foreign countries.